Two jailed for software piracy

By
Grant Gross, IDG News Service
| Jul 04, 2006

| IDG News Service

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Two US men have been sent to prison for online software piracy.

David Chen Pui of California, was sentenced to 12 months in prison for distributing pirated works from his own and other websites, and David Lee Pruett of Washington, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for his involvement in the software release group Legends Never Die or LND, the DoJ said.

Pui and Pruett each pleaded guilty to a single felony count of conspiracy to commit copyright infringement. US District Judge Graham Mullen of the Western District of North Carolina sentenced Pui on Tuesday and Pruett on Wednesday.

The sentencing of Pui and Pruett follows the recent gaoling of Franklin Edward Littel and Shawn Laemmrich in US district courts in Indianapolis and Marquette, Michigan. Both Littel and Laemmrich were sentenced to eight months in prison to be followed by eight months of home confinement.

The convictions are part of a US Federal Bureau of Investigation undercover sting called Operation FastLink, a crack down on so-called warez piracy rings online. The operation is based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Operation FastLink has resulted in more than 120 search warrants executed in 12 countries, the confiscation of hundreds of computers and illegal online distribution hubs and the removal of more than $50m (about £27m) worth of illegally copied copyright software, games, movies and music from illicit distribution channels, the DoJ said.